Aromatic Chicken & Mushroom Rice Cooked In A Cast Iron Pot

We don’t have a rice cooker at home. That was why it was difficult to resist the cast iron pot promotion at the supermarket last December when we chanced upon it.

Having a cast iron pot at home has its advantages. There is flexibility in the way rice is being cooked at home – either on the stove or baked in the oven. The latter allows rice to be cooked evenly without it getting burnt at the sides and bottom of the pot. The added flavours become better infused into the rice as well, which makes the rice much more delectable and fragrant.

Have been wanting to try out a rice recipe with our new purchase for a long time. I came across this recipe and thought of giving it a try. It led on to one more irresistible attempt, with more to come in the future, I’m sure!

Ingredients:

Chicken thigh: 4 pieces

Chicken breast: 4 fillets

Honey: 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp

Light soy sauce: 6 tbsp

Unsalted butter: 3 tbsp

White onion: 1, diced

Rice: 6 cups, washed

Cooked chestnut: 300g, roughly chopped

White mushroom: 400g, sliced

Chicken stock: about 6.5 cups

Thyme: leaves from a few stalks

Ground blackpepper: to taste

Method:

Marinate chicken thighs and breasts with honey & light soy sauce.

Leave overnight in fridge.

Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

Heat wok. Add chicken into wok, together with the sauces.

Brown chicken for a few min on both sides. Remove from wok and set aside.

Heat butter in cast iron pot. Fry onion till browned and translucent.

Add rice. Stir to mix in with onion.

Add chestnuts, mushrooms and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer.

Place chicken thighs and breasts on top of rice, pressing down to level with rice.

Marinating the chicken pieces would allow them to be more flavoursome. I tried this dish once before without marinating them; the chicken turned out a bit tasteless as the honey and sauces flowed right down into the pot to flavour the rice mixture instead.

Use cooked chestnuts instead of the raw ones. They are able to blend in better with the rice since they are softer and hence faster and easier to cook too.